MORALLY NEUTRAL THINGS

"Now set your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God." 1 Chronicles 22:19

We like to think of Satan as this awful, nasty creature with the frightening power to get us to do hideous things. Things like hate and murder and kill and steal. I'm afraid though that these hideous, immoral things, as bad as they are, are not Satan's most deadly weapon. No, it's the in the middle things, the morally neutral ones that he uses the best. By turning our attention onto normal, good things, in a manner so subtle that we don't even realize it, Satan can distract our focus from God, leaving us lost to the truth and vulnerable for attack.

Just like it doesn't take long for a band without it's director, a ship without a compass or a team without a couch to go astray, human beings giving no thought to God means bad news. Without God as our strength, power and constant reminder of what's true, we quickly find ourselves in a downward spiral and on a crash course with destructive and selfish living.

In the first book of the bible we are told that God created the world and everything in it and that it was good. That means that that everything from food, TV shows, sports and even relationships were all made by God with a purpose in mind. One of those purposes was so that you and I could enjoy these things , recognize that they came from God, and praise him for all he has done. Satan's main goal is to prevent this from happening. If he can make us so obsessed with God's creation that we worship it instead of the creator himself then he has done his job.

Just stop for a second and think about all the things we spend our day doing. Eating, exercising, worrying about the way we look, trying on clothes, buying new ones, working, trying to be successful, trying to be liked, watching sports, playing sports, learning, studying, volunteering, going to church, walking, hiking, vacationing, spending time with kids, with loved ones....the list goes on and on. These are wonderful things no doubt but the real question is how much do you think about all of these things instead of the God who gave them to you? Favorite TV shows, the latest political news, music videos and the like. Is the problem that we're to busy or just that we choose to make no time for God? Satan has most of us so distracted by things, worries, fears, stuff and trying to be what the world wants us to be that we can give zero attention to the God of the universe who has given us everything.

Paul says twice in his first letter to the Corinthians that, "Everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible but I will not be mastered by anything." There are lots of good things that can be the focus of our lives but I hope you will realize like Paul did that "Nothing compares to the surpassing greatness of following Christ" (Phil 3:8). Will you keep Christ as your number one focus and spend time with him today?

NO FEAR

"I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" 1 Cor 15:50




There was a clothing brand called "No Fear" that was big when I was growing up. I always wanted a t-shirt like the one above because they made you look so tough, cool and brave. I don't know about you, but there are times even now when I that I could use one of these shirts to pump me up because I don't feel very tough or brave. In life, I find myself often facing fears that not only scare me but dictate the way I live. Recently I've realized it doesn't have to be this way. The hope that we have for eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the one and only living God, has removed all fear from the thing we all fear most, death.

We hold on to our lives and living so tightly don't we? We don't like getting sick and especially hate getting diagnosed with things like diseases. As much as we cling to being alive and well, the reality is, we must give all this up if we wish to enter God's eternal kingdom one day. Can you imagine walking up to the gates of heaven holding the keys to your car and a box of pills to take every night before bed? Read the Bible's description of heaven and ask yourself what you're going to bring heaven's gates.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. " (Revelation 21:1-7)

No death , no mourning, no crying, no pain, everything will be made new. Verse 4 tells us that Jesus will wipe away all our tears and all our hurt, forever, once and for all. I don't know about you but I'm not bringing my keys or pillbox to a place like this. Things like these don't belong in God's perfect heaven.

What a wonderful place heaven will be. But in order for you and I to experience the peace and freedom from fear associated with death we must let go of the flesh and blood of this world. We must be willing to let our bodies decay and die on earth one day if we want to inherit the new body God will give us in heaven. We cannot hold tightly to the world we're in and still live for our heavenly home to come. Only when we let go of this earthly world and its possessions and embraced the perfect home God has prepared for for us all, will we find that our fear of dying is replaced by hope because we know that dying is not the end, but instead, the beginning. This perspective enabled the apostle Paul to say things like, "To live is Christ, but to die is gain" (Phil 1:21). There are not many times in life when you are fortunate enough to have a win, win situation on your hands, but we do because of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:56 says that the "sting of death is sin" but Since Christ paid for the sins of us all, death has lost it's sting and is no longer something to fear. You and I both know that if we trust Christ's forgiveness alone as the only way to heaven we are guaranteed a place in his kingdom.

As long as you and I are alive, we get to experience the joy of spending our days following God and spreading the glory of his name and the goodness of his forgiveness on the earth. In dying, we get to at last leave our sinful, broken world, exchange this flesh and blood for a new body (1 Cor 15:35-49), and spend eternity in the presence of our mighty creator God.

Jonathan Edwards said in his "Resolutions" that he thought on his own death often because it reminded him to make the most of each day. Because of what Christ has done, should do the same. We shouldn't fear sickness, cancer, or the destruction of our earthly bodies. If anything, we should allow these potential fears to remind us that our time on earth is short, motivate us to make the most of each day, and excite us about the heavenly future that awaits.

The Icing on the Cake

Recently I have found myself anxious about future plans and decisions. I will lie awake in bed at night trying to sort out life's worries but there are still so many questions left unanswered. On top of that, about the time I get one thing figured out, something else always comes up - it's an endless cycle. Paul, in Philippians 4:6-7, has some great advice about what to do when one grows anxious or worried.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but it everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God, then the peace of God, which passes all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus."

Our response to anxious times should be focused on two things, prayer and thankfulness. Prayer is a way of remembering who is ultimately in control and that you don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders alone. Being thankful is so important because it counters worried thinking by forcing a person to totally change their perspective. Satan loves worry because in making us concerned about one thing we can't control he can immediately blind us the countless other blessings of the Lord that abundantly surround us. When we forget about the Lord's blessings we stop praising him and start praising ourselves. We must force ourselves to be thankful when worried else we will begin a downward spiral into fear and bondage living that is hard to raise out of.

In the book, Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury, a fictional San Francisco 49ers head coach says these words when questioned about his prediction of how his team would do in the Super Bowl:

"We'll do great. The way I see it, we're not even suppose to be here."

When we look at our life and circumstances with an icing on the cake, I wasn't even supposed to be here mentality, we realize there is nothing to fear and nothing we have to hold on to. Everything in life won't go your way, that much can be expected, but when you can live at peace with that idea, you will begin to enjoy the freedom of living that God intends.

What's your focus?

"Concentrate of others and practice will be easier for yourself," coach G yelled. This statement typified exactly what you had to do in order to get through coach's practices everyday. His were the toughest in the country. The toughest physically and the toughest mentally. If you were not constantly cheering on your teammates to keep the focus off yourself and you would quickly crumble under the fatigue.

The Christian life is no different. We are called as believers to put the needs of others before our own, to consider others better than ourselves (Phil 2:3) and to serve and not be served (Mt 20:28 ) just like Christ modeled for us. I firmly believe that you will not enjoy life's fullest satisfaction unless your focus is off of yourself, on the Lord instead, and on being a servant to those around you. If you're having trouble getting through each day, try a change of focus and concentrate on others.